In order to conduct a variety of medical research, it is necessary to perform small animal surgical procedures. To perform open chest experiments and surgical procedures in rodents, for example, rats and mice, researchers need to intubate the animal. Because of the difficulty with intubation, many research groups use a surgical approach, tracheostomy. This method is not desirable for chronic and survival surgeries, because of increased risk for infection, inflammation, narrowing of the trachea (postsurgical) and bronchial secretions, which all may lead to respiratory failure.
A second method used by researchers is exposure of the trachea (by making a skin incision and dissecting salivary glands). For survival surgeries this is also not desirable because of increased risk of damaging the glottis and vocal cords, insertion into the wrong location (if inserted into the esophagus the animal will die), and increased chance of infection due to the skin incision.
Several years ago, fiber optic light technology came to be used in research experiments and many labs are using fiber optic wires as a light source for intubation procedures. The advantages and disadvantages of this prior art technique are:
Advantages:
1. The outer diameter of the fiber optic wire is small (0.4-1 mm) which allows the fiber wire to be inserted into the angio-catheter for easy use.
2. By using an adjustable light source, the light intensity may be adjusted.
Disadvantages:
1. The prior art technique requires many hours of practice and assistance.
2. The position of the esophagus is very close to the trachea, so it is easy to go into the trachea, which may harm the animal.
3. The glottis and vocal cords are very small and it is difficult to visualize the organs during a procedure without magnification (the current approach does not use magnification).
4. After intubation, it is necessary to remove the catheter and check the position of the catheter. This takes time and if it is not correct, the animal may be sacrificed.
5. For this prior art intubation technique researchers need to use drugs such as Ketamine/Xylazine (or a similar long-acting anesthetic) for a sufficient period of time to perform the tracheal cannulation. These anesthetics depress respiration and can cause death in the animals; especially in older animals and in those with cardiovascular risk factors.
Given the disadvantages of prior art systems, a safer, easier and faster system for performing rodent intubation procedures is needed.